Whether you’re holding your Reading Festival tickets safely in your hands or you’re just dreaming of them, chances are that you’ve not been able to check each and every single artist performing this year, let alone find out about the festival’s history.
Perhaps this has to do with how Glastonbury and Isle of Wight are normally recognised as the most traditional festivals, while Reading and Leeds are perceived as relative newcomers. Wrongly so, may we add, especially for what concerns Reading.
Behind the Reading Festival there’s the National Jazz and Blues Festival, which started in 1961 and changed dramatically over the course of that decade, moving from away from the initial jazz sound towards a rock structure which saw the likes of The Who, Cream and Fleetwood Mac perform.
What this festival lacked, compared to other iconic names of the 60s, was a stable home: started in Richmond, London, it moved to Berkshire, Surrey and East Sussex over the last few years of that decade.
While focusing on the front runners of the British music scene, this remained a relatively minor festival due to its nomadic essence and the lower presence of overseas acts.
It was not until 1971 that the festival finally arrived to Reading and made it home. This was a festival that focused solely on music rather than politics and counterculture, and it did so by concentrating on hard rock, punk and new wave bands.
The small details about past versions of the festival speak volumes about how the music industry has changed since then: a ticket would cost £2 in 1971, plastic sheets were used instead of tents, and Genesis were paid £175 to perform in 1972.
With another twist in the attitude, the 80s saw the festival go through very intense moments: while the music took a walk on the heavy metal side, larger crowds and controversy made the headlines and in 1984 and 1985 the local council denied the licence and the festival didn’t take place.
Back in 1986, Reading Festival went through a few turbulent years and changed management in 1989, when it also started riding the new wave and indie movements.
The 90s saw much of the space also taken by grunge and Britpop sensations, with Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain infamous wheelchair performance in 1992 and Blur having two of their most celebrated shows in 1993 and 1996.
In 1999 the festival’s cousin in Leeds was launched, as Reading festival’s demand had outgrown its own capacity. There was also a short-lived Glasgow version of the event, Gig on the Green, which in the space of a couple of years still managed to attract the likes of Eminem and Marilyn Manson, along with the usual tabloid controversy.
The noughties are recent history, with the successful spell of the two festivals embodied by the 2008 editions, when Reading and Leeds festival tickets sold out in less than two hours.
With the likes of Foo Fighters, Black Keys and Justice ready to take the stage this year, we wouldn’t be surprised if history were to repeat itself.